Analyze This!
I am intrigued by the story that the Houston Astros capitalized on analytics in order to win the World Series in 2017. This is the article that piqued my interest:
"Analytic insight fueled both player selection and on-the-field decision making, such as where to position players in game situations."
That leads me to believe this might be something useful to restaurant operators, a methodology that would involve spotlighting the best servers, bartenders, line cooks and hosts, and scheduling them based on where they could help the organization most.
Which isn't always Friday and Saturday nights.
What is the best servers were positioned for Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and helped grow the sales on those days, in order to achieve a higher sales goal for each week?
Analytics can help achieve goals like these, but just like the management within the Houston Astros, the people within the restaurant need to use the data that they're receiving to make better decisions.
And that's exactly where the "translators" come in - people like CFOs or Accountants who understand that the decision-makers have to be able to process the information and base their choices on it, successfully. As the article mentions, navigating this data requires a continuing education for all of the managers involved. But the education gained becomes professional development for each employee, which is a win-win for the employee and restaurant operator.
So while you may think that Accountants are just there to perform data entry and pay the vendors, the truth is, your accounting team should be providing you, the owner, with the analytical information and education that is needed to give you an edge, which may be the difference between profit and loss in the current saturated market.